Tom Hodd

Literary Modemism and Occult Scholarship: The Rising Academic Tide

Literary Modernism and the Occult Tradition. Eds. Leon Surette and Demetres P. 14D TPF, Tryphonopoulos. Orono: NPF, 1996.

Modemist Alchemy: Poetry and the Occult. Timothy Materer.Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1995.

Literary Modernism, and New Criticism specifically, has long been a source of frustration for scholars. Early critics who Sumttl embraced the New Critical theory of textual autonomy without question (though perhaps unconsciously) have perpetuated a closedminded approach towards a period of English literature that claims to have no outside influences-that the text is the only point of consideration. As a result, scholars who challenged this belief find themselves on the periphery of Modernist scholarship, struggling to demonstrate the validity of their contributions. A prime example of this "critical marginalization" is the field of occult scholarship.

The stigma of the occult's associations with demon worship in Western culture and the prevailing theory of textual autonomy has weighed heavily on accepted pursuits of critical literary scholarship in Literary Modernism. Excepting W.B.Yeats, scholars have grossly ignored any relation the Modernists held to pagan religions, and in some instances, have blatantly denied the existence of a "secret tradition" in Modernist literature. Thus, occult commentary by early critics like F.L. Lucas, David Evans, William Tyndall or John Senior were, for the most part, simply dismissed as insubstantial pageants. But a group of recent critics is again challenging this conservatism: James Longenbach, Leon Surette, Timothy Materer, Leonora Woodman, Demetres Tryphonopoulos, and a host of other critics contend that the influence of the occult on late 19th century and early 20th century writers does indeed exist. Their studies attest to the fact that occult research should not remain on the periphery of "true" critical scholarship, but instead be moved into the mainstream of Modernist thought.

I.

Demetres Tryphonopoulos and Leon Surette have assembled a collection of substantive essays which, in Surette's words, are intended for "those who suffer from the scholarly ailment that n-dght be called 'occultophobia... (xiv). Literary Modernism and the Occult Tradition is a provocative and eclectic compilation of occult discussion, effectively arguing that "a reassessment of the topoi of vision, ecstacy, and eros in literary modernism as spiritual rather than pyschological and pious rather than sceptical is called for" (xvii). In this collection are studies on W.B. Yeats, T.S. Eliot, James Joyce, William Carlos Williams, H.D., Ezra Pound, andted Hughes, each exploring various strains of the occult in Modernist writing: Spiritualism, Theosophy, Hermeticism, Alchemy, as well as other traditions and topoi. A Selected Bibliography by M.Anthony Tremblay and Archie Henderson provides readers with a further resource, demonstrating that the need for future explorations in the occult is vital to any serious reevaluation of Literary Modernism.

Literary Modernism and the Occult Tradition begins with Demetres Tryphonopoulos's "The History of the Occult Movement", an essay that balances the heterogeneity and elusive nature of the occult through a thoughtful presentation of its chief tenets and doctrines. Likewise, Leonora Woodman's "H.D. and the Poetics of Initiation" is a tremendous exploration of H.D.'s belief and proclamation of t e occu t. roun ing er argument in H.D.'s use of theosophy and the dream-vision, Woodman demonstrates how H.D. uses the occult in the hopes of"establish[ing] a cadre of poets/ priests who would disseminate her mythic vision in art" (139). It is by far one of the most provocative essays in the collection. John Congrave's essay on Joyce's occult sources is an informative and exhaustive list of Joyce's use of occult topoi, including the Book of the Dead, Theosophy, and Hermiticism; also to be noted is Peter Liebregts's essay " 'Between the Staring Fury and the Blind Lush Leaf William Butler Yeats and the Occult". This article considers how Yeats uses the Kabbala, the Sacred Rose, and the concept of mediators to express his mythic, personal, and Nationalist sentiments.

Barry Aheam's "The Seer of Rutherford" is slightly less engaging: his study explores the relationship between William Carlos Williams's occult psyche and his affiliations with Spiritualism. Though the subject is compelling, the argument remains unconvincing. Too often Abeam stretches the line of probability, thereby detracting from the effectiveness of his hypothesis. His comments regarding the poet as medium are particularly weak: "Mediums vibrate to the emanations of the spirit world, the poet responds to the 'music.' Séances paradoxically occur in complete or partial darkness. Similarly, as critics have noted, the remarkable music comes to Williams in 'the semi-dark' (Poems, II 273)" (I 34). Instead of challenging the imagination, these forced correspondences unfortunately leave the reader's skepticism intact.

In contrast to Abeam is Leon Surette's challen ing essay "The Waste Land and Jessie L. Weston: A Reassessment". Here Surette contextualizes Jessie L. Weston's role in the "occult circles" of the early 1900s, and then proceeds, through an analysis of the original Waste Land manuscript, to demonstrate Eliot's incorporation into his poem of occult themes such as the initiation into the double mystery of life and death. Surette further argues that Pound's elision of materials from the manuscript was meant chiefly as a means to weaken the influence of the occult in Eliot's poem. He suggests that "he[Eliot] went to Pound ... for assistance with the occult components of the poem, about which he knew little" (78). This essay was originally published in 1988 in Twentieth-Century Literature and is truly a ground breaking consideration of Eliot's early masterpiece.

One of the closing studies in this collection is on Ezra Pound. Stephen J. Adam's "The Dramatic Background of Pound's Operas" discusses Pound's Le Testament and Cavalcanti in relation to Yeats, and more specifically to Yeats's incorporation of the ritual-initiation themes of the Noh-plays. This fascinating article is a commanding exploration of Pound's more obscure (or less canonical) writings. One wonders, though, why the editors chose a study of Pound's operas over explorations of The Cantos (both editors have written full length criticisms on this subject)- especially if their intent is to dispel "occultophobia" and substantiate their scholarship. The presence of Ahearn's article in the collection is equally puzzling. In "The History of the Occult Movement," Tryphonopoulos comments that "Spiritualism does not really belong to this discussion because, unlike other forms of the occult discussed here, it places no special emphasis on secret or esoteric wisdom and initiation rites" (43).Though these comments refer specifically to Tryphonopoulos's article, they echo the sentiments of every other essay in the collection-except Ahearn's.

The editors of Literary Modemism and the Occult Tradition also contend that their collection of essays is "anchored by James Longenbach's consideration of relations between painting, literature, music and the occult" (xviii). Though Longenbach's essay is thoughtful and at times of exceptional critical insight, his reliance on Wallace Stevens as a focal point prevents him from truly capturing the scope of occultism presented by the essays that preceded it. The end of "Why it is Abstract" reads more like a discussion of Stevens' poetics rather than a corollary to Surette and Tryphonopoulos's collection.

The insight and energy of Literary Modemism and the Occult Tradition is unquestionable: Surette and Tryphonopoulos have succeeded in providing critics with a substantial contribution to a growing field of Modernist scholarship. While the essays presented vary in competence and strength of argument, their physical presence alone is testament to the powerful influence of the occult on Modernist writers. Literary Modernism and the Occult Tradition may not dispel "occultophobia," but will certainly force Modernist critics to contend with what G.R.S. Mead might have called, "a rising academic tide".

II.

While Surette and Tryphonopoulos's collection focuses on the existence of a secret tradition and those writers who seek to penetrate its mysteries, Timothy Materer's Modemist Alchemy: Poetry and the Occult explores the alchemical origins of Modernism. This book is a collection of essays dedicated to several Modernist writers and their inheritors (Yeats, Pound, H.D. and Eliot; Plath, Ted Hughes, Robert Duncan, and James Merrill). Each chapter possesses a unique perspective on Alchemy and the ends to which it served the respective writer's art.

Unlike Literary Modemism, Materer's writings do not push the envelope towards any full-fledged embrace of occultism. In this collection he explores the differing degrees to which these poets are conscious or unconscious of occult influence; a second consideration is whether the writers display an embracing of occult tenets or choose to maintain an ironic distance from the "secret tradition". In his essay on "Pound as Magus," for example, Materer contends that Pound's use of alchemical imagery and his projection of poet as magus belie Pound's apparent belief in the occult. Furthermore, Pound's conflated use of occult rhetoric and elitism among those who possess 'the knowledge" displays a certain selfconsciousness on the part of il miglior fabbro. Comparatively, in "H.D. and Hermeticism" Materer views H.D.'s use of mercurial imagery and the alchemical marriage as a deep spiritual connection with the occult arts. Materer believes further that the tradition culminates in James Merrill, a poet who strikes a fine balance between self-conscious and unconscious evocations of the occult: "[Meffill's] attempt to suspend both doubt and belief fulfills a poetic style that Yeats initiated in modem English poetry. Merrill's radical skepticism refuses to resolve antitheses and is paradoxically receptive to spiritual beliefs" (xiv). While I may not agree with Materer's hypothesis, it is still a fine discussion of Merrill's occult influences.

"T.S. Eliot: The Occult as Heresy" falls into the unfortunate category of a critic who wishes to perpetuate the myth of T.S. Eliot. Materer's contention that Eliot drew on the occult to undermine it (and thereby strengthen his Christian beliefs) is certainly provocative; unfortunately, he only pays attention to Eliot's post-conversion years, a move that invariably detracts from the effectiveness of his argument. Materer takes little account of Eliot's earlier pieces, focusing instead on Eliot's denouncing of people like Yeats and Pound, who chose "spooks" and "medieval mysticism" over true spiritual beliefs. More specifically, Materer attempts to demonstrate that Eliot's incorporation of occult topoi in The Family Reunion and The Cocktail Party, as well as the presence of Yeats's ghost in the Four Quartets, did not display a long lasting impact on the poet but rather helped "to further Eliot's critique of the occult" (85). This attention to the plays is certainly a welcome addition to scholarship done on Eliot's dramatic works; but Materer's conscious dismissal of Eliot's earlier poetry makes his argument all the more puzzling. When we consider Eliot's conflicting comments about his early occult explorations and evidence put forward by people like John Senior, Tom Gibbons, and Leon Surette, any essay which relies almost exclusively on Eliot's postconversion period opens the door to severe criticism. A hypothesis cannot hope to become theory by ignoring half of the data.

However difficult it may be to accept Eliot's "occultism as heresy," Materer's discussion of Ted Hughes is unequivocally enjoyable and convincing. "Ted Hughes's Alchemical Quest" (included in Literary Modernism and the Occult Tradition) is chiefly an exploration of Hughes's Cave Birds. In this chapter Materer argues that the poet's quest towards a "unification of opposites" ultimately fails, that the succession of debilitating images which mark the end of the volume is clear evidence that the quester has not succeeded in achieving spiritual transcendence. More specifically, he believes that Hughes's evocation of the falcon image at the end of Cave Birds and the sudden declaration that "The dirt becomes God" serve to display a confusion of sorts, and by no means present a triumphant rebirth for the quester. Instead, such imagery leaves Materer wondering whether "the occult material helped to develop, or has it merely obscured [Hughes's] poetic themes?" (155).

Materer also places his essay on Hughes alongside an intense exploration of Sylvia Plath. In "Sylvia Plath: Occultism as Source and Symptom" Materer contends that Plath's occultism was emblematic of an obsession with her father as well as the source of her creativity, that her dead fathers presence "gave a dramatic edge to her occultism" (140). Indeed, his treatment of Plath's "Dialogue Over a Ouija Board" is impr I essive and thought-provoking. This essay is an excellent exploration of Plath's struggle for spirituality and a powerful indication of the occult presence in her work.

III.

This review has considered only two of a growing number of studies on occult scholarship in Literary Modernism. While the studies themselves are fascinating and challenging to New Critical attitudes, it must be said that occult scholarship is highly specialized and demands considerable foreknowledge from its readers (perhaps this is part of the reason why occult scholarship has remained on the periphery of Modernist criticism) A further obstacle for both readers and critics is the eclectic nature of the occult: the vast range of pagan religions and traditions makes it difficult to define any clear set of tenets or doctrines, thereby making the critic's task of proving occult influence even more difficult. Regardless, the achievement of critics like Timothy Materer, Leon Surette, and others can only serve to heighten our awareness of a long ignored influence on Literary Modernism.

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